Chapter 13

Ye Xinran walked into Jiurong Prestige City full of apprehension. He had thought he didn't belong in a place like this and expected the security guards to give him looks.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he entered, a driver invited him into a car and properly delivered him to the villa entrance.

Chi Ning had only been up for a short while. Yawning, he led Ye Xinran to meet his father, then stood nearby, drowsily listening through the entire conversation.

Perhaps what he had said yesterday had worked. His father merely asked about Ye Xinran's family situation, reviewed some documents, then had someone bring over an ink pad and signed the contract.

The whole thing took no more than half an hour.

"Phew—" Chi Ning let out a long breath and turned to Ye Xinran. "I forgot to remind you to bring evidence and documents regarding the loan sharks yesterday. Sorry for the trouble."

Ye Xinran felt his ears itch and shifted slightly. "I should have brought them myself."

When Chi Ning's father raised his eyes, cold sweat had already broken out on Ye Xinran's back. As expected of the head of a conglomerate who dominated the business world.

He wondered what Chi Ning's older brother, who frequently appeared in newspapers, was like. In any case, Chi Ning had no imposing presence at all.

Like a piece of candy disguised as an ice cube.

Oblivious to Ye Xinran's thoughts, Chi Ning asked, "It'll be lunchtime soon. Want to eat together?"

Ye Xinran said, "No, I need to go back and study. I'll be taking an overseas technology competition later."

Chi Ning said, "Oh."

Got it. He was one of those obsessive overachievers.

He saw Ye Xinran out and had the driver take him home.

After lunch, Chi Ning planned to go look at properties.

It was time to put his little laboratory on the agenda.

Pharmaceuticals and biotechnology were actually his hobbies. Although they had developed into a career in his previous life and he had been exploited until he went numb, he still liked them in the end.

As long as he didn't work himself day and night, conducting experiments was practically play to him. At least it was better than staring blankly into space all day and torturing himself.

Full of hope, Chi Ning toured Yangcheng and looked at eleven properties. Not a single one was willing to rent to him. No one wanted to rent to a minor, afraid of getting involved in anything illegal.

He sighed.

He didn't want to tell his family about setting up a laboratory. Given his father's personality, he might set him up with a top-of-the-line facility outside, but the family was short on money right now. They couldn't waste it like that.

It was more appropriate for him to handle it himself.

Chi Ning went to the billiards hall, opened a table, and absentmindedly played alone. After a long time, he still couldn't think of a solution.

On weekends, Qin Heng and Zhang Qiuwen had to watch the place. They couldn't play whenever they wanted like they did from Monday to Friday, and Mo Yuanzhou wasn't around either.

Chi Ning was bored with playing. Just as he was about to buy a bottle of water, the plastic curtain at the entrance was pulled aside.

The newcomer was making quite a racket, unlike the regulars here, who moved softly and quietly.

Chi Ning looked up and saw Jiang Shijie stroll in with a cigarette hanging from his mouth.

He looked around, then snorted disdainfully. "This dump? You had the nerve to bring me here?"

"Brother Jiang, this is already the best billiards hall nearby." The person following behind him bowed and scraped. "The environment is very good."

Jiang Shijie gave a derisive laugh, then his gaze suddenly froze. "Well, well. Isn't that Second Young Master Chi?"

Chi Ning didn't respond. Jiang Shijie was too loud, and Chi Ning found him embarrassing.

"Ignoring me?" Jiang Shijie walked to Chi Ning's table, braced a hand on it, and sat down, making a mess of the game Chi Ning had been playing.

"You can't sit on the billiards table," Chi Ning reminded him.

Jiang Shijie seemed to have taken the wrong medicine. Not long ago, he had still been sucking up to Chi Yang, but today he was especially arrogant. "I'll sit wherever the hell I want. If I break it, I'll pay for another one."

He took a drag of his cigarette and blew the smoke into Chi Ning's face. "It's not even anything valuable. Don't tell me the Chi family can't afford to compensate for it?"

Holding his breath, Chi Ning stepped back.

For Jiang Shijie to be this fearless, he had probably found a new patron.

At present, the only family in Yangcheng capable of rivaling the Chi family was the Shen Family.

At that thought, the way Chi Ning looked at Jiang Shijie turned hostile.

Jiang Shijie felt his heart jump for no reason. "What are you staring at?"

Chi Ning was speechless.

You interrupted my game, and I'm not even allowed to stare at you?

"Sir." Qin Heng walked over from the side and unobtrusively stepped in front of Chi Ning. "Smoking is prohibited here. Heavy objects may not be placed on billiards tables, and loud noises that disturb other guests are also prohibited. Please mind your behavior."

Qin Heng was wearing a suit. Jiang Shijie was intimidated for a moment, but he didn't recognize Qin Heng's face. He was surely just an ordinary person, not part of their circle.

Jiang Shijie became arrogant again. "So what? At worst, I'll rent out the whole place."

"We do not offer private bookings," Qin Heng said neither humbly nor arrogantly. "If you insist on not putting out your cigarette, I will ask you to leave."

Chi Ning blinked slowly.

Although Qin Heng's courtesy and refined manner might all be an act at this moment, Chi Ning still couldn't help wanting to applaud him.

Not only did Jiang Shijie refuse to extinguish his cigarette, he flicked ash onto the floor. "The Shen Family and I are going to discuss business here later. Can you afford to compensate us if you delay it?"

Chi Ning lowered his eyes.

The Shen Family, the owners of Jiu Pharmaceutical.

Jiang Shijie really had hooked up with the Shen Family.

He just didn't know how many of his brother's friends had already been bought off by the Shen Family.

Chi Ning tugged at the hem of Qin Heng's clothes, signaling him not to argue with Jiang Shijie.

After all, Qin Heng had no real backing right now.

Qin Heng pushed Chi Ning's fingers aside with the back of his hand, then lightly held them for a brief moment. Without looking back, he gave Jiang Shijie a soft laugh. "Please wait a moment. I'll call the owner."

Jiang Shijie said arrogantly, "Call him. Remember to apologize to me afterward."

Qin Heng rubbed his fingertips together and turned toward the counter.

He didn't know why he had held Chi Ning's fingers, but this wasn't the time to think about it.

Chi Ning watched Jiang Shijie finish the rest of his cigarette. The falling ash burned a small black hole into the carpet in the billiards hall.

He no longer felt like playing and wanted to dismantle his cue and put it back where it belonged.

Now that Jiang Shijie had someone backing him, he had grown bolder, and his little schemes began stirring again. His gaze circled Chi Ning's slender waist. "Don't rush off. When President Shen gets here, why don't you play with us? We're all in the same line of business. Maybe we'll have something in common to talk about. President Shen really likes dealing with young boys."

Before Chi Ning had time to feel disgusted, he saw that Qin Heng had somehow already finished his call and was standing behind Jiang Shijie.

He had taken off his suit jacket, and the sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to his elbows.

Qin Heng reached out and patted Jiang Shijie on the shoulder. "Sir, are you sure you won't leave?"

Jiang Shijie turned around and immediately cursed, "Fuck, you—"

Qin Heng clenched his fist and viciously punched Jiang Shijie in the side of the face.

No one had time to react. The lackey who had brought Jiang Shijie was completely dumbfounded.

Qin Heng grabbed Jiang Shijie by the collar with both hands, dragged him off the billiards table, then drove his knee into the man's abdomen.

Jiang Shijie coughed and gagged.

Under Chi Ning's stunned gaze, Qin Heng viciously pressed Jiang Shijie's cheek against the small hole in the carpet burned by cigarette ash.

His tone was calm, his eyes lowered, and he wasn't even out of breath. "The owner asked me to tell you this: pass along a message to President Shen, who likes young boys. Tell him Xu Jiahao does not welcome him, because Mr. Jiang smoked in his billiards hall."

Chapter 13

As Jiang Shijie breathed in and out in terror, he accidentally inhaled the cigarette ash scattered across the floor into his windpipe and began struggling violently.

The brain corroded by debauchery abruptly cleared for a moment.

Fuck, how did this little bastard know my surname was Jiang?

He hadn't revealed his name at all when talking to Chi Ning just now!

The Jiang family wasn't particularly influential, and its heir rarely appeared in print media. An ordinary person couldn't possibly recognize him so quickly.

Either this guy watching the place was part of Chi Ning's social circle, or someone had shown him photographs and taught him to recognize people.

Fuck, he couldn't afford to provoke either possibility.

Jiang Shijie raised his head and glanced at Chi Ning.

Seeing Jiang Shijie grit his teeth and remain silent, Chi Ning knew that he had figured it out too.

Fortunately, he wasn't hopelessly stupid.

From the moment Qin Heng decisively made a move after finishing his call, Chi Ning had guessed that Xu Jiahao must be anything but ordinary.

Although the Shen Family was a rising force, it was already capable of standing toe-to-toe with the Chi family. By having Qin Heng beat up Jiang Shijie, who had come to negotiate business with President Shen, Xu Jiahao was undoubtedly slapping President Shen in the face.

Boss Xu was an adult. The fact that he didn't fear President Shen meant he had sufficient confidence. If anything really happened, President Shen might even have to show him some respect.

The reason Qin Heng had been able to build up Qin Corporation in his previous life was most likely because he had seized this opportunity with Xu Jiahao.

Chi Ning glanced at Qin Heng as he dragged Jiang Shijie out the door.

Hmph. Some people were not only full of lies, but deeply calculating as well.

He had picked an excellent place to work.

"Brother Qin, what about the carpet?" Zhang Qiuwen asked with some distress. "Should we count it as our oversight? Do we have to pay for it?"

Chi Ning curled up on the sofa, propping up his cheek as he watched Qin Heng with leisurely interest.

He had already figured it out. Young Qin and older Qin had almost completely opposite personalities.

As generous as older Qin was, young Qin was stingy.

There was no way Qin Heng would pay compensation.

Sure enough, Qin Heng opened the phone book, flicked through it with his fingertips until he found President Shen's business card, then picked up the landline receiver and dialed the number. "Hello, is this President Shen's secretary? I'm an employee at Xu Jiahao's establishment. Was Mr. Jiang Shijie planning to meet with President Shen here today?"

"...Here's the situation: Mr. Jiang smoked inside the establishment, sat on a billiards table without permission, and provoked other guests. Our owner had him removed, but the carpet was still burned, and the billiards table may also have been damaged. Would President Shen be handling the compensation, or will Mr. Jiang be paying it himself?"

He was courteous and impeccable in his wording.

Zhang Qiuwen rubbed the goosebumps on his arms. He hadn't expected Brother Qin to look so convincing when pretending to be educated.

Chi Ning said, "Mm."

Qin Heng's move could only be called sowing discord.

If Jiang Shijie reported what happened today himself, it would be easy for him to twist the facts. Boss Xu might even end up taking the blame for him.